Has anyone heard any news recently on changes coming to recycling?
I stopped into city hall a few days ago and they didn't have one of the two recycling stickers. Someone said that they were waiting on the mayor to make some changes to the program and hence weren't ordering new stickers until it is resolved.
I'm not sure what that means - like if we are going to move to a "single stream" system, or something else?
I know there was talk over the last several years, but if they are "neglecting" to order new stickers one would think that changes were imminent and there might be some news out there.
Has anyone heard any news recently on changes coming to recycling?
I stopped into city hall a few days ago and they didn't have one of the two recycling stickers. Someone said that they were waiting on the mayor to make some changes to the program and hence weren't ordering new stickers until it is resolved.
I'm not sure what that means - like if we are going to move to a "single stream" system, or something else?
I know there was talk over the last several years, but if they are "neglecting" to order new stickers one would think that changes were imminent and there might be some news out there.
The city is so antiquated, so far behind the times. Gosh, they are only now getting to the point where people can pay taxes on line and really not long ago at all that forms and stuff could be downloaded and such, it's just the incompetence of the city.
And so too with the trash. If they used the taxpayers' money wisely they would not only switch to single stream and greatly add to the very small list of items that the city allows people to put into their recycling bins, but also to having trucks like the privates use.
I do remember hearing something a few years ago about the city considering switching to single stream, and there was something about the need for the city to provide special recycle bins to each household and they claimed (another LIE) that the city couldn't afford it. Yep, remember, they can spend the taxpayers' money on welfare for Galesi and all those other millionaires downtown but to provide service to the taxpayers the city won't do it.
The other issue is, whatever changes are made, if it has to do with recycling, hell, this mayor doesn't enforce the current laws regarding trash and recycling, he won't cite people for who put recyclables in their trash, etc. Lots of incompetence.
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
ahhhhhh...............private waste companies are soooooooooooooooooooo much better.....less complicated.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
ahhhhhh...............private waste companies are soooooooooooooooooooo much better.....less complicated.
I'm not sure your intent of that comment. But one thing for sure is to ask how often in Rotterdam (with private collection) do you see regular weekly piles of bags of trash sitting at a curb and not in a can?
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
I'm not sure your intent of that comment. But one thing for sure is to ask how often in Rotterdam (with private collection) do you see regular weekly piles of bags of trash sitting at a curb and not in a can?
I DO believe paying for your own trash removal is less complicated AND cheaper. HOWEVER.....even a dolt would know that if schenectadians were left to be responsible for their own trash pick up.....IT WOULD BE A DUMP!!!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I DO believe paying for your own trash removal is less complicated AND cheaper. HOWEVER.....even a dolt would know that if schenectadians were left to be responsible for their own trash pick up.....IT WOULD BE A DUMP!!!!!
It "would be" ???? It already is
Right on...on the pay for your own comment.
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
Despite repeated efforts to improve recycling rates in Schenectady, the city is still recycling well under 10 percent of its annual solid waste output (not counting yard waste).
This despite a law on the books in New York since 1992 that mandates recycling and despite the fact that compliance would save taxpayers as much as $2 million a year.
City officials refuse to enforce the law, which would produce enough revenue to cover the added personnel costs and then some, so it’s time to try something different: single-stream recycling. That’s where you throw all recyclables — paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metals, etc. — into a single container (rather than several separate ones) and the stuff gets separated by someone else at a recycling center. Doing this saves big on tipping, transport and landfill fees, which are determined by weight. It reduces stress on landfills, which also saves money in the long run. And it can also produce some revenue from selling recyclables.
Nationally, single-stream has raised recycling compliance to roughly 30 percent. Saratoga County, where residents pay privately for trash collection, switched to the system at the beginning of March. Officials estimate the move will save the county at least $500,000 per year.
Granted, Saratoga County, with privatized service, is a long way from Schenectady’s inner city, where recycling rates are said to be as low as 5 percent. But a city similar to Schenectady in size and demographics — New Bedford, Massachusetts — instituted single-stream last summer to rave reviews, and is saving an estimated $100,000 per year.
Schenectady’s City Council — with Gary McCarthy as president — voted in 2010 to adopt single-stream. But then-General Services Commissioner Carl Olsen refused to abide by the order unless the council sprang for $1.5 million worth of special containers and new equipment to facilitate collection. The city couldn’t afford it at the time, and we urged Olsen to pursue some kind of hybrid system and stepped-up enforcement. Neither has happened, and the city continues to flush good money down the drain.
Perhaps this is something that the new acting OGS commissioner, William Winkler, can look into. It might not be necessary to buy thousands of those fancy containers and to retrofit trucks — though it would be safer. Or the city could consider subsidizing the cost of the containers by soliciting tasteful advertising on them from local businesses.
A grander scheme could include privatizing the entire service, as many surrounding communities have done. City property owners pay separately for trash collection already, but it doesn’t fully cover the cost of the service.
Whatever choice the city takes, it does need to do something, because the status quo is clearly unacceptable.
Winker = double dipper off the taxpayer
And how many times have we stated that in Schenectady, the homeowners pay the "trash fee" PLUS pay in the "regular" tax bill
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
They should hire the pickers who circulate amongst the neighborhoods. They do an excellent job of sorting the recyclables. They perform the seperation of metal,cans/bottles, etc. in such a streamline manner with very little going to waste. Have seen pickup trucks full of the reclaimed items they have seperated from refuse left out for pickup days. This extra effort by the pickers frees up the homeowners from doing it. Maybe thats why they don't do it. It helps a certain segment of society with their economic woes. Everybody has to eat.
A guess here. The way trash is left at the curb, in some case sloppily, and unseperated, may be indicitive of an underlying mindset-lack of pride/love for their city. And this would stem from what? Believe it is in code that one is not supposed to put trash out in black/green non-see thru plastic bags. It's a good thing that they are picked up as the majority of bags left at the curb are of the black/green non-see thru variety. And the resulting problem of not picking those up would leave the city in quite a mess. One wonders how many recyclables are contained within these bags.
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